I Melt for You

If there were a chocolate lava flow happening right now, would you grab my hand and run as fast as you could to it?

Since a real chocolate lava flow right now is unlikely, how about a single-serve dessert with a gooey chocolate center?

Whether you call it lava cake, molten cake, or fondant au chocolat (fondant is French for “melting"), this delicious treat has melted chocolate in the center, which runs a little when you slice into it.

But why stop with a melting chocolate center? Search around a little and you'll find oozing caramel, creamy Oreo pudding, rich dulce de leche, and more! This month's Instagram baking collab hosted by @aredspatula and @sugarfacebakes brings you all sorts of melty baked goodness. Check out #moltenmyheart on Instagram and get googly-eyed over these desserts.

I kept it simple this month with the flavor and went with the traditional chocolate. But this recipe isn't traditional! It's what I call my EASY-PEASY LAVA CAKE. But you can call it gone! Because that's what happens as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Easy-Peasy Lava Cake

These Easy-Peasy Lava Cakes start with a warm chocolate cake filled with a lava pudding center, and preparing the cake doesn’t even require any mixers. This is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth for Valentine’s Day or any time you need a lava flow of deliciousness.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 cup 72% real chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup fat-free or low fat milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Filling:

1/4 cup instant pudding mix (get creative and use your favorite kind)

1/2 cup cold fat-free or low fat milk

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine pudding mix and cold milk. Beat with a whisk until completely smooth and no lumps remain. Let mixture stand at room temperature for about 5 minute so it can thicken.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray four (4-oz) ramekins with baking spray with flour. If you don't have an oil spray with flour, you can also grease inside of ramekins, sprinkle generously with flour, then tap ramekins (while they are turned upside down) to get rid of excess flour.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add chopped chocolate and milk. Microwave for about 1 minute. Stir with a whisk until chocolate is mostly melted. Microwave for an additional minute, and stir until melted chocolate is completely uniform.

4. Add in remaining cake ingredients. Whisk until batter is silky smooth.

5. Add batter into prepared ramekins, until they are about half full. Add 2 tablespoons of pudding to the center of each ramekin. Evenly divide remaining batter between the four ramekins, making sure to completely cover the pudding.

6. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 15—17 minutes, or until the surface of cakes are just set.

7. Remove cakes from oven. Let sit for 1 minutes. Place a small plate on top of each ramekin. Very quickly, invert the plate with ramekin, so that the plate is now on the bottom and the ramekin is upside down on top. When you lift up the ramekin, the cake should be on the plate. Repeat with remaining ramekins. Serve immediately.